TheGoogle Pixel 9is here , and if you have n’t hear yet , it ’s first-class . Google did almost everything decently this year — releasing phones with gorgeous hardware , excellent cameras , slap-up battery life sentence , and more .
All Pixel 9 phones also get along with a host of new AI features . Some of them , likeAdd MeandPixel Screenshots , are legitimately not bad . Others , like Pixel Studio , could have used more time in the oven .
However , out of all the package tricks on the Pixel 9 , the one I ’ve enjoyed the most is n’t unexampled at all . It ’s a seven - year - old feature you might have forgotten about , but it ’s easily one of the best thing about the Pixel 9 .
Now Playing is still the best
When Google launched the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL in 2017 , one of the big new features was something call “ Now play . ” If your Pixel 2 detected music playing in the background , it could mechanically show the song name and artist on your ignition lock screen — all without you needing to lift a finger . The best part ? It ran entirely on - machine , meaning it worked even without an internet connective .
This might not fathom like a big deal on paper , but in practice , Now Playing has become one of my all - time preferent reasons to use a Pixel headphone . There are multiple times throughout the day when I hear a Sung on the radio , in a TV commercial , or in a eating house that I want to roll in the hay the name of . Is it difficult to pull out my phone and reach the Shazam app to identify it ? No . But it’ssonice to have my phone do it in the scope without me having to think twice about it .
Google does n’t make a big flock about Now toy these day . In fact , it has n’t been talked about at all during the last few Pixel launching . But the lineament is still there — you just have to enable it . To do so :
Now , when your Pixel 9 ( or any other Pixel earpiece ) hears music playing , it ’ll pop up on your whorl screen . That ’s all there is to it .
This is what makes Pixels so good
There are a couple of extra preferences you could fiddle with from the Now Playing varlet . you could add a button to your lock screen to do a manual song confirm whether a more isolated song is playing that ’s not in Google ’s on - gimmick library . to boot , you’re able to view your Now play chronicle to see all the vocal it ’s identify — and German mark favorites to help you commend specific ones .
That ’s about all there is to the characteristic . You flex it on , let it run in the scope , and you never demand to recall about it again . It ’s legitimately helpful , incredibly easy to use , and a fantastic example of why I have it off using Google Pixel phones so much .
For all of the lecture of AI on smartphones this year , few things have made a big feeling on me . Samsung has alotof AI goodies as part of itsGalaxy AIsuite , but I could honestly live without all of them . Summarizing notes and websites is interesting , but nothing that makes my life easier . Apple Intelligenceis loud and well - commercialize , but I could n’t care less about havingartificial tidings write e-mail for me .
Google has n’t been double-dyed in this department , either . Pixel Studio , one of the newest AI feature article on the Pixel 9 series , is a mess . likewise , Gemini Live is a cool tech demo , but that ’s about it .
But for every “ meh ” AI feature on Google ’s Pixel phones , there are two more that I do n’t require to live without . The Pixel Recorder app is the best transcription app I ’ve ever used and is the main reason I play a Pixel with me to roundtables and interviews . Hold for Me , the feature that allow your Pixel to keep your stead in telephone line when you ’re on hold during a phone call , is unbelievably helpful .
More than almost any other smartphone company , Google has figured out how to make smart / AI have that I in reality want to use — whether that ’s the Recorder app , Hold for Me , Now Playing , or something else .
If you have a Pixel 9 ( or another older model ) and are n’t already using Now Playing , you should ! It ’s been enable on myPixel 9 ProandPixel 9 Pro XLsince I start using them , and it ’s been adorable have the feature again after using other non - Pixel phones this year .
Also , let this serve as a reminder that not every new smartphone feature — AI - powered or not — needs to be a liberal , flashy spectacle . More often than not , the smaller , practical ones make the grownup difference . That ’s the case for Now Playing , and so long as Google continues to offer the feature , it ’ll remain one of things I look forward to the most whenever I use a Pixel .
